愛伦山泉 Alan Springs

The original concept for Alan Springs came about during Alan’s 2019 residency at Dimensions Art Center in Chongqing. At that time the project was a result of Alan’s physiological need for drinking water, his preference for Nongfu Springs brand of water, his desire to repurpose the refuse he created, and the empty bottles as a marker of time passed during the residency period. Chongqing is situated at the meeting of the Jialing and the Yangtze rivers, so water is foundational to the culture of the city, as it is essential to the human body.

China Academy of Art 2023

Entirely unexpected to Alan, a mere four months after the completion of the Chongqing residency, he left China not to return for three years. During this time Alan enrolled in a program at China Academy of Art, which ended up being entirely remote for two and a half years. When China finally reopened in 2023, Alan was able to complete his Master’s degree in person. The Alan Springs concept was revived as part of this exhibition, due in part to the limited time for on site fabrication, and the same need for drinking water.

Alan’s work found enthusiasm and seemed well received, even sparking some debate about the interpretation on the platform Little Red Book. In the context of other works, Alan Springs was found to be shockingly minimal, humorous, or representative of the laziness of foreign students in the Chinese education system. To respond to this environment, Alan made an account and posted a response on a popular post at the time. Many viewers felt that the work spoke to the anxiety of graduating students facing bleak job prospects, coinciding with high youth unemployment in the Chinese economy, and a banned term “lying flat”. The word for flat and the word for bottle have the same pronunciation, so the connection of these tired looking human bottle forms and the trending term was made.